This application generally relates to the field of dental care, and more particularly to dental arch models used in dental treatment.
In the course of a subject's (e.g., dental patient's) dental treatment, a dental arch model may be created to represent the arrangement of the subject's teeth. Errors may be introduced in a subject's dental arch model as the subject's teeth move. Teeth may move as the subject ages, or because of changes induced by treatment of the teeth (e.g., orthodontic treatment). Thus, it may be difficult to accurately reflect tooth position, even during treatment to correct the position of teeth. Overcorrection or undercorrection may occur (e.g., a tooth may move too far or too quickly).
Currently available methods of correcting a dental arch model are inadequate because they are either too time consuming or too expensive. Examples of mid-course correction methods are described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,488,499 and U.S. Pat. No. 6,761,560 to Miller, and U.S. Pat. No. 7,037,108 to Chishti et al., herein incorporated by reference in their entirety. Many of these methods require complex and expensive techniques for correcting a course of treatment used to realign or straighten teeth. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,488,499 and U.S. Pat. No. 6,761,560 require additional aligners to be designed and provided to bring a patient's teeth back into position, so that an original course of treatment can be resumed. These additional aligners add cost and time to the treatment.
Thus, there is a need for a method of updating and correcting the position of teeth in a dental arch model (e.g., a digital or virtual model, and/or an actual, physical dental arch model). The methods and systems describe herein address this need.